The early season Jeff domination began during Spring Break when the women's lacrosse team traveled to Wellington, Fla. In the season opener, against Union College, it was evident that the Jeffs were a bit nervous, as they gave up two goals to start both halves. But the then fifth-ranked Amherst squad showed it is a force to be reckoned with, finishing each stanza strong and with a lead.
First-year phenom midfielder Mary Noonan notched her first career goal to get the Jeffs on the board, and additional goals by attackers Maddie Hoeg '08, Alyssa Briody '07 and Amy Craig '09 gave Amherst the lead. Meanwhile the Jeff defense, led by tri-captain Laura Brown '06 and Margaret Chute '06 held the Dutchwomen scoreless for 15 minutes, forcing a Union time-out. The squads traded goals to end the half with the Jeffs up by one.
Once again, Union came out strong, netting two goals, and taking a 7-6 lead after Noonan had tied it a six apiece. However, the Dutchwomen's offensive power ran out for the final 22:07 of the contest, as the Jeffs tacked on five goals to win 11-7. While Briody and Noonan were the offensive heroes with four and three goals, respectively, much of the credit for the win must be given to the defensive-minded players. Junior midfielders Rachel Lewis, Lauren Dudley and Liz Wise all turned in key performances. Lewis led all players with three draw controls and Dudley collected four ground balls. Sophomore goalie Linda McEvoy tallied eight saves in her first collegiate start. "Winning first game against Union gave us confidence that we can really accomplish a lot," said Brown.
Unlike the Union game, against Eastern Connecticut State University, the Jeffs were overbearing from the start. Noonan scored twice in the first three minutes, and Amherst never looked back. Even though there were no Amherst goals for nine minutes, the Jeff defense refused to allow the Warriors to set up offensively. Dudley kicked off another Amherst scoring spree, as the Jeffs led 6-0 before Eastern Connecticut got on the board. One goal was all the Warriors could muster in the first half, however, and Amherst rolled to a 10-1 half-time lead.
The Jeffs showed that their early period hesitation in the Union game was purely first-game jitters, as Dudley made the score board a picket fence (11-1) just 32 seconds into the second frame. Head Coach Chris Paradis cleared the bench down the stretch, but the Warriors couldn't handle the extremely talented Jeff reserves. Amherst rolled to an 18-6 victory, with a trio of players (Briody, Dudley and Noonan) notching a trio of goals. Chute was the best all-around player, scooping four ground balls, forcing two turnovers and scoring a pair of goals. Noonan and Lewis recorded five and four draw controls, respectively, and sophomore Kathleen Boucher only need three saves to earn the win in goal.
A very successful Spring Break slate gave the Jeffs a lot of confidence to start the season. "It was great time for team to really bond together and it was good to play against others not just against ourselves," said Brown.
"It was really awesome for us to have that time to come together as team," added Briody. "We all made a commitment to each other about what kind of season wanted to have."
Amherst took that confidence back to Western Massachusetts, as they routed Springfield College 12-4 on Thursday. In the home opener, tri-captain attacker Scotty Hanley '06 scored the first and last goals of the game, and six different Jeffs found the back of the net. Hoeg and fellow attacker Dana Kuper '07 led Amherst with three goals and an assist apiece. Wise came off the bench to contribute two tallies and grab two ground balls, while Lewis and defender Maggie Roth '07 collected six and five ground balls, respectively. McEvoy recorded five saves to earn the win, and Boucher chipped in two saves of her own.
Overall, the Jeffs had an easy time with their first three opponents. "Having a couple games that weren't incredibly close were really valuable to us because we got to try out a couple different player combinations and plays in a non-stressful environment," said Briody. "We started out a little nervous in the first game, and playing other two gave us confidence."
The inaugural games of the 2006 season were good for Amherst to get used to playing in a more competitive atmosphere, but the first real test for the Jeffs was on Saturday. Amherst traveled to Brunswick, Me. for a game against Bowdoin that had more riding on it than the first NESCAC contest of the season implies.
In the regular season last year, the Polar Bears beat Amherst in overtime on the Jeffs' home field. Amherst returned the favor in the postseason, with a narrow 13-12 overtime victory in the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament. Ranked sixth and seventh in the nation, respectively, Bowdoin and Amherst entered this year's match looking to settle the score.
Unfortunately, Amherst reverted to a slow start, allowing the Polar Bears to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Hanley got the Jeffs on the board, but Bowdoin's lead stretched to 7-3 as the clock wound down in the first half. However, an unassisted Wise tally with 27 seconds left gave the Jeffs a spark.
Briody led off the second period with two unassisted goals of her own, cutting the Bowdoin's advantage to 7-6. The teams traded scores for the remainder of the game, however, with Craig, Noonan and Briody bringing Amherst within one each time. But Briody's fourth goal of the game with 2:19 left was the final score, as the Jeffs simply ran out of time to tie the game.
Despite the loss, the Jeffs are pleased with their performance, and their ability to give a top-notch team a score, even after falling behind 3-0. "The game against Bowdoin was a very different game than we were used to. It showed us that we have to challenge each other more in practice," said Briody. "A positive of the game was that it showed that we can play with best teams in league and we are right there with them. It showed us what we need do."
"They [Bowdoin] are great team and showed us a few specific problems to work out," added Brown. "We will be able to beat them next time. We have a very positive attitude good chemistry."
The Jeffs also have amazing depth, which along with chemistry and a positive attitude is a deadly combination. In fact, Amherst is so deep that there isn't a solid starting lineup. For example, leading scorer Briody didn't start against Bowdoin, and half of the last 22 Amherst goals were scored by players coming off the bench. "We usually don't know who is starting until the day before the game, but people trust Chris [Paradis]," said Brown. "We all know each person brings something different to line up, and based on the scouting report we try to put out the best line up against a team that may have set line up."
The Jeffs will look to use their versatility as they try to pick up two NESCAC wins this week. They will travel to Trinity College today and then head back to Connecticut to face Wesleyan University on Saturday.
"I think that everyone realizes that this is a very new and different season. We have such a deep bench and a much more united team than in past years," said Briody. "I think we can do really awesome things because of how we relate to each other and that's something not a lot of other teams necessarily have."
NESCAC Notes
Middlebury College, Bowdoin and Tufts University are all undefeated in NESCAC play, posting three, two and one victories, respectively. In those three games, Middlebury has scored 55 goals. A loss in Amherst's only conference game has the Jeffs currently tied for last place. Amherst and Middlebury are the only two teams to ever reach the final of the NESCAC Tournament.